“Ed doesn’€™t reconstruct your riding, instead he focusses you on a few moves to make it somewhat more fit for purpose. Firstly a more open body position combined with better management of speed before letting it all hang out on technical sections. This act of faith to abandon the binders means taking more direct lines and committing 100% to the terrain. There’s some soundbites around “€˜chin up, elbows out”˜ but it’€™s more subtle than that.”

More great feedback on a blog, this time from Alex who came up to ride Hebden Bridge with two mates. This was a private booking and we did an Alpine Prep course specially tailored for the group of 3. We looked at pumping the trail, carrying speed, manual, bunny hop and drop offs as well as steep switch back corners and other ace mountain biking stuff.

As always with these courses I try to build on what is good about the way the guys are riding and then make tweeks and add in good technique where it’s missing. Then we ride lots of trails, have a good lunch, ride more and drink some fine ales to finish.

You can read the full blog here.

 

Another year of the Trans Provence is done. I was working as part of the Mounatain Staff again, pre-riding the route and timing the special race stages. You can check out the excellent TP videos for a taste of what the event is like and to see the occasional cameo from me. Here’s one from Day 3.

MAVIC® TRANS-PROVENCE 2012 ::: DAY 3 from Trans-Provence on Vimeo.

Highlights for me this year were the mind blowing trails, feeling static from a close by lightning strike, duck in honey and peaches and the sight of sun rising in the mountains. I’m writing a longer blog on my experience, but for now here are a few photos.

Dates and prices are already up for the spring 2013 Trans Provence 3 day skills and riding breaks that I run with Ash the organiser of the TP. These are aimed at riders wanting to progress their all mountain riding skills for trips to the Alps, Pyrenees and other bike holiday locations. It’s also a great opportunity to escape the grim of northern European winter for an early taste of the south of France.

Many people choose to do the Trans Provence in a more relaxed and accessible way than the race. Those booking the TP guided trip might be interested in doing the Great Rock UK ‘Alpine Prep’ course which looks at and develops some essential skills for riding alpine style. Feedback has been good from the many individuals and groups who did this training and went on to enjoy the TP guided trip.

I’ve been running this course all through the spring and due to it’s popularity will continue to offer dates into summer. Hebden Bridge has great trails which make an unrivalled location to develop the skills you’ll need if you’re heading out for a big mountain mountain biking holiday. It’s also a great course to hone your skills for riding technical UK natural mountain bike trails.

We’ve been riding steep rocky trails, steps, drop offs, switchbacks and learning how to weight and unweight the bike. Learning to do a proper bunny hop is an invaluable trail riding skill and this is at the core of this course.

We’ve got some of the best riding in the country here and it’s been great fun running these courses for me. We also have top notch cafes to have lunch in and a brilliant mountain biker friendly pub in which to stage the ultimate debrief.